Provincial Attraction Guides

Explore the Dunhuang Yadan National Geopark: the Devil City of wind-carved rocks, how yardangs form, sunset tours and the West Line route.

Everything you need for a Forbidden City visit: the central axis and Inner Court highlights, mandatory advance booking, Monday closure, hours and construction notices.

Why Mutianyu is the best Great Wall section for international travelers: cable car, chairlift and toboggan, fewer crowds, hours, tickets and how to get there from Beijing.

Visit the Temple of Heaven: the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, Echo Wall and Circular Mound Altar, the acoustics, and morning tai chi at Beijing's beloved park.

A complete Summer Palace guide: the Long Corridor, Tower of Buddhist Incense, Kunming Lake boat ride, Marble Boat, tickets and the best route.

A 7-day Beijing and Xi'an family itinerary for Indonesian families: Great Wall cable car, Forbidden City by electric cart, Terracotta Army, and kid-friendly food and transport tips.

A 6-day Chengdu and Zhangjiajie nature itinerary for Indonesian travelers: giant pandas in the morning, the Avatar mountains of Zhangjiajie, and easy logistics between the two.

Explore Gulangyu, Xiamen's car-free island of pianos and colonial villas: ferry booking, Sunset Rock, Shuzhuang Garden, beaches and local snacks.

Visit the UNESCO Fujian tulou — giant earthen fortresses of the Hakka people: the Tianluokeng cluster, Chengqi Lou, how they were built and how to get there.

Discover Quanzhou, the UNESCO Maritime Silk Road port: Kaiyuan Temple, Qingjing Mosque, Luoyang Bridge, fusion cuisine and a 2-day itinerary.

Walk the three lanes and seven alleys of Fuzhou: the best-preserved ancient neighborhood in south China, its scholar mansions, museums and night atmosphere.

A complete guide to Wuyi Mountain in Fujian: the Nine-Bend River bamboo raft, Da Hong Pao tea origin, red cliff peaks and how to plan your visit.

Shaanxi is the cradle of Chinese civilization, and it shows. The Terracotta Army alone would justify a trip, but Xi'an (the provincial capital) was the imperial capital of thirteen dynasties, the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, and the seat of Tang-dynasty power at its height. The mountains south and north of the city — including Mount Hua, one of China's Five Sacred Mountains — add dramatic scenery to a province that most travelers experience only as a stopover.

In March 1974, farmers digging a well outside Xi'an found terracotta fragments underground. They had no idea they'd struck one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century: a 2,200-year-old army of more than 8,000 life-size clay soldiers, buried to guard China's first emperor in the afterlife.

Two hours east of Xi'an rises one of China's most dramatic mountains. Mount Hua (Hua Shan) is the westernmost of China's Five Sacred Mountains — and the one with a reputation that precedes it: the most dangerous hike in China. Its cliffs are so steep that for centuries pilgrims crossed them on wooden planks bolted into sheer rock, and today visitors still queue to walk that same "Plank Walk in the Sky."

In the 7th century, the monk Xuanzang returned to Xi'an after 17 years traveling to India — the real-life journey behind Journey to the West. To house the Buddhist scriptures he carried home, he built a brick pagoda at the Da Ci'en Temple in 652 AD. That tower, rebuilt and enlarged under Empress Wu Zetian, is the Big Wild Goose Pagoda that still stands at the heart of Xi'an today.